I wanted to do a full analysis of a huge character that we were introduced to during Iris. I think much of the community's disappointment with Iris is due to the lack of closure; the who?s and why?s and how?s weren't really answered, although we did get a lot of theories eliminated by theoretical implications that the little tidbits of fact that we received spawned. Sure, it didn't last too long, didn't say "This is how it all went down", and didn't end with a *Bang!*... but there is still much to gain from it, as I have found while writing up this thread. So, that being said -- let's make with the delve-age!

As already analyzed in many other threads, there are many similarities between the posts of NAR ("New" AdjutantReflex, or AR's Superior, otherwise unidentified). I will hit the highlights as a recap, color coding the similarities:

NAR v. BPC Voice wrote:

NAR wrote:

My identity is not your concern.My intent is your concern.

Voice in BPC MP3s wrote:

But my identity is not your concern.

Quote:

NAR wrote:

Tomorrow, things may be clearer but I will not be here to witness the clarity. I am for another place and another time. On my terms.

Voice in BPC MP3s wrote:

Tomorrow, things may be clear, but I will not be here to witness the clarity. More records remain -- wells not drawn upon; depths you are not yet ready to grasp.

From the above 2 blatant quotes, we can identify the Voice from the BPC as NAR, AdjutantReflex's Superior (whoever he/she/it may be). Those who wish to not identify them as one-and-the-same may do so, but the facts say otherwise.Next, we can tie NAR to the other text transmissions, delivered to us via the buttons on the 5 Servers (again, color-coded for ease):

NAR v. Server Data wrote:

NAR wrote:

What do I do with life?I do not require charity or almsBut I did choose povertyAnd other darkness tooWill you wait for me?

Halo array –System Data Recorder (Server 1) wrote:

{D-com} It's done. By my hands.The pyrrhic solution is ignited. All I have left is the quiet of space to lull me to sleep. I will dream of you.

Content Overwrite (Server 3 wrote:

Should I pursuea pyrrhic choice?

MB05032 (Server 5 wrote:

...the cure that was worse than the cancer

From the above, I believe we can identify them as the same speaker. The speaker's themes are the same, knowledge seems to extend to the same reaches, and tone is the same. Many other themes run throughout all of these pieces -- that of guilt or remorse, of a hope or need for repentance and redemption, and of a confusion about moral values, even starting with the original AR (OAR) as he is about to be taken over:

THEME OF GUILT wrote:

OAR wrote:

The stain on his hands will not wash. That damned spot as old as rock and timeHe has had millennia for reflection, but what image does he see?.

BPC Voice wrote:

You must understand: not all life deserves a chance, even the artifice passing as my own. Now there is a lesson to spend a millennium lingering upon.... Did we succeed? Did we fail? we did both. Depending on who you serve.

Halo array -System Data Recorder wrote:

{D-com} No pain. No remorse. Is that normal?

Author's Note: The fact that "D-com" is wondering if it is normal to feel no remorse, shows that he is remorseful for not being "normal".

MB05032 wrote:

You asked me once about my intent, And the spot that would not wash out...

THEME OF REDEMPTION wrote:

NAR wrote:

Will you wait for me?

BPC Voice wrote:

I almost convinced myself that no one was listening...But a chance remains to change the universe anew...Perhaps through others' eyes, you may find how to save us all....waiting for a redemptive hand to turn the keys...I will guide your movements, and you will lead me to atonement....But the unexpected,The chance to regain the future...Haven't you seen the signs, redeemer?...And you, Redeemer, now hold the keys.

System Data Recorder wrote:

I will dream of you.

MB05032 wrote:

I promise you the answers lie in the ArkFind me there in the darkFor that is where I abide

THEME OF CONFUSED MORALS wrote:

OAR wrote:

He is not as helpful as I. His motives are oblique and his alliances opaque. He plays with time even as he hides in its folds....What has he learned in Eon’s slumber? I doubt it’s mercy or sorrow.

NAR wrote:

What do I do with life?

BPC Voice wrote:

Did we succeed? Did we fail? we did both. Depending on who you serve.

System Data Recoder wrote:

{D-com} I feel no peril.{D-com} No pain. No remorse. Is that normal?

Content Overwrite wrote:

But intentions are eddies and whorlsAnd they change with the course of a streamThis stream becomes a riverAnd a cataract of logic and doubtWho has the right to live?The light with the will to create me?Or dark with the will to consume?Sometimes might is rightAnd sometimes the lamb must submit to the lionMy convictions are testedMy intentions now are fey and strangeShould I pursue a pyrrhic choice?And rethink alliances?And choose a new philosophy?Right or might?Truly I do not know

We know that AdjutantReflex (OAR) was speaking to us from our time (meaning for OAR it was the same day it was for us), from the date calculated from this:

Hours in a year, = 8,765.81277Hours passed since activation as cited by OAR = 871,803,909+-384871,803,909 / 8,765.81277 = 99454.999995396890047880865244627Rounded, that's roughly 99455 years since activation.100,000 - 99455 = 545We're in year 2007.The events in the Halo story arc take place in the year 2552.2552 - 2007 = 545

So OAR's messages were not transmitted through time. But, NAR's were and we can prove it thusly:OAR informs us he has the ability to:

Quote:

An older life is here with us... He plays with time even as he hides in its folds.

NAR tells us:

NAR wrote:

I am for another place and another time.

The BPC Voice (which I maintain is the same character as NAR) tells us things from 2552 and claims to have been around during first Halo firing:

Quote:

BPC Voice wrote:

This is how it all begins.Just in time to, once again, dance on the knife-edge of oblivion.To relive what the Halos have hoped to destroy, and more.For two enemies now stand, where before, there was only one.With fate we escaped, and fate we may relive.I almost convinced myself that no one was listening; that the waves of the past would roll through once again.But a chance remains to change the universe anew.Learn of our past.Take these keys and dip from the wells of history.Perhaps through others' eyes, you may find how to save us all.

Two enemies = Flood and Covenant; now stand = in 2552 (or later); we escaped = he was there for the first firing, along with us, the Covie and Flood

... therefore, we can conclude that NAR is speaking from the future, knows about the Covie/Human/Flood war, knows the desperation they are facing in that time, as well as things from our own time that could help us change the future. He has also survived the past, and as I maintain, he was the being who fired the Halo array the first time and has been waiting all this time for someone to talk to.When we take all of these similarities into account, and take the leap that it is the same being, we start to see a very round character! He's ominous and brooding, yet hopeful and penitent, and hopeless and lonely all at the same time. He is pleading to know what is right and for us (humanity) to have the strength to follow through, and thereby "redeem" him of his actions. He is the culmination of all the character arcs in the Halo Universe -- the most important character thus far. Yes, our "hero" is Master Chief; but this unnamed character represents all parties at once: Humanity, Covenant, Forerunner and Flood. In all reality, HE may be the only true and real enemy. He has fired the Halo Array once before and survived; what is stopping him from doing it again? The answer: Only his lack of conviction, which is way more dangerous than any sort of conviction, be it good or evil. It is untrustable, incalculable, unstable and worst of all, indifferent -- one cannot feel guilt or pride for an action unless one knows whether the action was right or wrong. He doesn't know; he wants to learn.

Onward with some more tie-ins and speculation...Have you watched the Making of E3 2006 Halo 3 Announcement? If not, DL it... Specifically, I want to address 0:57 - 1:33 -- Here's the transcript:

Quote:

CJ Cowan: Cortana has been left away from the Chief. She's in the clutches of the Gravemind.Gravemind: I will ask and you will answer.Cortana: Alright. Shoot.Marcus Lehto: We don't know what's happened to her since then. Cortana (in distorted voice): I have defied gods and demons.Marti: We don't know it's Cortana -- it could be any sort of bizarre almost Satanic sort of voice.Cortana (in distorted voice): I am your shield; I am your sword.Frankie: Something seems wrong.Cortana (in slightly less distorted voice): I know you; your past; your future.

Now, while the voice in the E3 2006 Trailer is not a perfect match to the voice in the BPC page MP3s, there is an audible resemblance, as well as a thematic resemblance (omnipresence, loneliness, both on the offensive and defensive = confused morals). If the being speaking in the E3 Trailer and the one speaking in the MP3s is the same being, we should not expect its voice to be the same, because it had commandeered two different vessels to transmit messages -- Cortana in the E3 trailer and AdjutantReflex in Iris. This is speculation, but it has grounds, and really not enough information to prove or disprove it.

My main point of this thread was to analyze all the pieces together and show that AdjutantReflex's Superior was/is:1) The being who fired the Halo Array ~100,000 years ago2) The same speaker as {D-com} in the "Data Recorder" text file3) The Voice from the Bounce Path Control page MP3 Transmissions4) The author of the "Content Overwrite" and "MB05032" text files.5) Present in 25526) Transmitting messages through time, with AdjutantReflex as his vessel.7) A character to be later identified in Halo 3 in the Ark:

MB05032 wrote:

I promise you the answers lie in the ArkFind me there in the darkFor that is where I abide.

... and to speculate that he was/is:1) A possible enemy2) The same being that was speaking to us (or somebody) through Cortana in the Halo 3 E3 2006 Announcement Trailer.3) Your mom.

If you have anything to add or rebut, please feel free to do so!

Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:55 pm

thebruce

Data [Authenticated]

Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:59 pmPosts: 221Location: KW, Ontario

Re: Character Analysis: Adjutant Reflex's Superior + Speculation

wow that's an impressive analysis.

I'm not totally sold on NAR speaking from the future... If the only phrase that seems to lend itself to that claim from your opinion is "Two enemies = Flood and Covenant; now stand = in 2552 (or later); we escaped = he was there for the first firing, along with us, the Covie and Flood", then I'm not yet convinced...

'Two enemies now stand where once there was one' is still a mysterious statement. He hasn't named anything from the future specifically. And if he's been dormant for 100,000 years, 'now' could mean the entire time since then. Were the covies around back then? Does it know of the covies now? Perhaps back then the Covies were comerades to the forerunner, so the Flood was the one enemy - but with the firing of the weapon, things changed, and NAR knows that the covies are still around, and the Flood still exist (it doesn't have to know that the Flood were let loose in 2552 - just that that ancient enemy still exists, along with the Covies)

The nature of NAR is very, very intriguing and I'm excited to find out more... and your comment:

Quote:

He's ominous and brooding, yet hopeful and penitent, and hopeless and lonely all at the same time. He is pleading to know what is right and for us (humanity) to have the strength to follow through, and thereby "redeem" him of his actions. He is the culmination of all the character arcs in the Halo Universe -- the most important character thus far.

I'm not totally sold on NAR speaking from the future... If the only phrase that seems to lend itself to that claim from your opinion is "Two enemies = Flood and Covenant; now stand = in 2552 (or later); we escaped = he was there for the first firing, along with us, the Covie and Flood", then I'm not yet convinced...

'Two enemies now stand where once there was one' is still a mysterious statement. He hasn't named anything from the future specifically. And if he's been dormant for 100,000 years, 'now' could mean the entire time since then. Were the covies around back then? Does it know of the covies now? Perhaps back then the Covies were comerades to the forerunner, so the Flood was the one enemy - but with the firing of the weapon, things changed, and NAR knows that the covies are still around, and the Flood still exist (it doesn't have to know that the Flood were let loose in 2552 - just that that ancient enemy still exists, along with the Covies)

Thanks so much for the comment, bruce! It's always good to bounce ideas off of you, and so handy that you are omnipresent and there for the bouncing-off-of!Here's another statement that places NAR in the future, color-coded for convenience:

BPC Voice (Server 1) wrote:

Just in time to, once again, dance on the knife-edge of oblivion.To relive what the Halos have hoped to destroy, and more.

In the nick of time, as in, just before the Halo is fired. Plotwise, Halo 2 ended with Tartarus on his way to begin the Great Journey. What else could it mean? Although, I do realize that 545 years is a drop in the bucket compared to 100,000 years, so relatively we are already "on the knife-edge of oblivion".The Flood -- I don't think there is any argument to that.What else, besides The Covenant, could this mean? Seeing as The Forerunner have shown us in Iris that they are sympathetic to the Human cause:

Server 5 Video wrote:

The anomalous world is in a perilous location beyond the line.{/The secrets it holds must be preserved/}{/Plans within plans within plans/}The inhabitants; these unique denizens, must be researched.They may hold answers to our own mysteries.{/What irony that we discovered this treasure, only at the end of things,/}{/But what fortune that we still had time to save them/}The thing we built on that world will vouchsafe their lives,{/But perhaps one day it will be used for its intended purpose/}If the plan succeeds, and they are saved, it will be a good world.If the plan fails,{/And the adversary succeeeds/}it will remain an enigma forever{/With no-one left to reclaim it./}

NAR even attempts to compare himself as an individual to humanity:

BPC Voice (Server 4) wrote:

In the grand ballet of stars,We are almost the same, you and I.Breathtaking and mundane

They went out of their way to protect humanity, so we know that we are not their enemy (as a whole race). The only other thing that is being shot at is The Covenant. As to whether The Covenant existed during the first Halo incident, no one knows for sure. I asked about Forerunner home-worlds, and got a few allusions to Prophets claiming to have originated from a Forerunner home planet, but no real backup for the claims. The little backup that was provided referenced "Coral", which was an artificial planet, so I would not consider it a "home-world", just as a Halo is not a home-world, or your car is not a home-world. My purpose in that thread was a totally different one, though.

I think I am going to submit this for a college paper... when I decide to go back to college... for my degree in Fictional Galactic History, minoring in Fictional Galactic Sociology and Cultures.

Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:06 pm

ProfessorHojo05

Data [Authenticated]

Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:25 amPosts: 147Location: Arlington TX

Re: Character Analysis: Adjutant Reflex's Superior + Speculation

It would make a very good thesis.....if such classes are real.

If they are then what college are you going to? I want to go there as well.

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